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2009 Pilgrimage | 2010 Pilgrimage | 2011 Pilgrimage |
led by
Brother Patrick Moore, Andrew Walker, Julienne
McLean,
Peter Tyler and Pamela Lady Wedgewood
On the 1100 year anniversary of the foundation of the Abbey of Cluny, we are leading a pilgrimage to celebrate its foundation on September, 910. Cluny is synonymous with the religious order that exercised an immense influence on the religious, intellectual, political and artistic life of Western Europe in medieval times.
Originally established in 910 by William the Pious, several influential abbots over the centuries were established there, such as St Odo, St Odilon, St Hughes and Peter the Venerable, as Cluny became the mother seat of the French Benedictine monastic order. Cluniac monks, perhaps more than any others, were committed to developing a taste for extensive liturgical ceremonies. The Divine Office (a permanent dialogue with heaven) played a leading role at Cluny, the monks believing the monastery to be the ‘celestial Jerusalem’, and the maior ecclesia. The Abbey had a particular devotion to intercession for the dead and around 1030 St Odilon inaugurated All Souls Day on 2 November, still celebrated today.
The
Third Abbey, consecrated in 1095 by Pope Urban 11 declaring it to be the ‘light
of the world’ in 1098, was considered a masterpiece of classical Romanesque
art and was the largest church in Christendom until St Peters was built in
Rome in the late 16th century. The height of its influence was in the 12th
century when it became the head of a ‘monastic empire’ of 10,000
monks and 1,200 monasteries spread over ten provinces in France, Germany,
Switzerland, Italy , Spain and England. Prestigious abbeys throughout Europe
became its dependents, including St Pancras at Lewes in England. After the
French Revolution, the Abbey of Cluny finally closed in 1790 with the last
forty monks expelled in 1791, the sale of all the buildings being decreed
in 1798 by the State and then partly demolished.
In preparation for the study pilgrimage, there will be a symposium on The Spirituality of Cluny to be held at the London Centre for Spirituality, Church of St Edmund the King, Lombard St, London EC3V 9EA (www.spiritualitycentre.org) on Saturday 24th April 2010 from 11am to 4pm. For further enquiries, and to book for the symposium, please phone 020 7 6211391 or email info@spiritualitycentre.org. The cost will be £30 (bring your own lunch). The speakers include Dr Peter Tyler on Cluny: Between East and West, Dr Robin Gibbons on The Spirituality of Cluny, Professor Eric Fernie on Cluniac Architecture, Neil Stratford on The Sculpture of Cluny and Dr Rose Walker on The Wall Paintings of Cluny.
Our pilgrimage will start on Tuesday 31st August, where we will be meeting at Lyon airport around 2pm to board the coach for Tournus, our base for duration of our trip. This small town on the right bank of the Saone, halfway between Dijon and Lyon, abounds in historical, cultural and religious treasures. It is one of the oldest and most important of the monastic centres in France owing to the architectural beauty and harmonious proportions of the church and the conventual building, which date from the 10th century. For the duration of the pilgrimage, we will be staying in the four star hotel Le Rempart, a former 15th century guard house built on the ramparts of the city which has retained its historic character, including a Romanesque courtyard (www.lerempart.com).
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On Wednesday 1st September, we will be travelling to Cluny to visit all the sites associated with the ancient Abbey, as well as visiting the various centenary exhibitions in the town. For the extensive official programme of events, talks, exhibitions and festivities from September 2009 to December 2010, see www.cluny2010.eu, www.cluny2010.info, www.sitesclunisiens.org. We will be travelling back to our hotel in the early evening for dinner at the hotel.
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On Thursday 2nd September, we will be travelling to Autun to visit the ancient St Lazare Cathedral, the Rolin Museum and the town’s Roman remains which bear witness to the city’s past greatness. The tympanum in the central doorway of the Cathedral, which was built in the 12th century to house the relics of St Lazarus, is considered one of the masterpieces of Romanesque sculpture After lunch in Autun, we will be visiting the Abbey of Citeaux. Citeaux, like Cluny, is an important centre in western Christendom. It was here that Robert, Abbot of Molesme, founded the Order of Cistercians in 1098. Under the great driving force of St Bernard, who joined the community in 1112 and later became Abbot, its influence spread throughout the world. The Abbey of la Trappe, which was attached to Citeaux in 1147 and reformed in 1664, has given its name to the monasteries which joined the Strict Observance. |
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During the French Revolution, Citeaux nearly perished in its entirety, the monks being expelled and not returning until 1898, when the new monastery building was built which now houses around 35 monks. In 1998 a new church, Notre Dame de Citeaux, was inaugurated to commemorate the 900th anniversary of the abbeys foundation. We will have a guided tour of the monastery (www.citeaux-abbaye.com) and enjoy an evening meal in the local area before returning to the hotel in Tournus.
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On Friday 3rd September, we will be visiting the ancient Cluniac church of the Chappelle des Moines at Berzé la Ville. This 12th century Romanesque chapel is decorated with Romanesque frescoes, but only those in the chancel are well preserved. The clear Byzantine influence is probably due to the fact that the Cluniac artists who worked here were directed by Benedictine painters from Monte Cassino in Latium, where the eastern Roman Empire’s influence had lasted to the 11th century. |
We will then continue onto Cluny for lunch and a final visit. The afternoon will be free in Tournus for shopping or, perhaps, a walking trip around the ancient centre of the town. On Saturday 4th September we will be travelling by coach back to Lyon airport, where we will be arriving around 1pm. |
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The pilgrimage will be led by Andrew Walker, Julienne McLean, Br Patrick Moore, Peter Tyler and Pamela Lady Wedgewood who will be presenting talks and items for reflection during the event. No prior knowledge of the areas we shall explore is required.
The cost is £500* per person for a double/ twin room sharing, with a single supplement £50 per night. This fee includes half board in the hotel (excluding one dinner) and all travelling costs in Burgundy. The fee does not include travel from your home to Lyon airport, lunches, and entrance fees and dinner on Thursday evening 2nd September.
If you would like to join the trip, please enclose a deposit of £100 (£25 non-refundable if it does not attract enough participants to be viable) made out to the Contemplative Spirituality Network, with your name, address, telephone and email, as well as saying whether you would like to share a room or book a single room, and send to Flat 20, Christchurch Court, 171 Willesden Lane, London. NW6 7XF.
The remaining £400 will be due by 30th May, 2010.
Contact info@contemplativespirituality.org for more information or telephone Julienne McLean on 020 8 451 5255 or Andrew Walker on 01273 474 723. Please note, the itinerary is subject to change if local circumstances dictate.
*current exchange rate/may be revised
